Fen

Fen

Life-form Type

Multipedal Cnidarianoid

Homeworld

N/A

Lifespan

Unknown

The Fen were a barely sentient race of large jellyfish-like creatures that inhabit certain areas of hyperspace.[1]

Rarely encountered near the well travelled tachyon beacon routes, they are known to the techno-mages and are considered to be relatively harmless. Though there is no known instance of a Fen ever consuming a Starship, they are attracted to shiny objects.

Though the Fen are non-threatening, it is theorized that based on an ocean model, dangerous predators of the Fen should logically have evolved as well, and may be lurking in the farther depths of hyperspace.[2]

In 2267 the Excalibur encountered a bloom of Fen while en route to the Well of Forever. One of the Fen took hold of the Excalibur's dorsal hull fin and attempted to mate with the ship. A short burst from the ship's engines soon drove it off without any apparent harm.

The word "Fen" is an obscure plural form of "fan", as in "TV fans" or "TV fen". Thus they are an in-joke about casual TV fans: like the Fen jellyfish who are "attracted to shiny objects but get bored with them soon", the TV audience is often composed mindless herds who watch for shiny CGI explosions instead of the storyline but get bored with shows easily and switch to another.